


He Offered Her His Hand

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, F/M, Getting Together, Past Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s05e13 The Diamond of the Day, Spoilers for Diamond of the Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24782947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: In the aftermath of Camlann, when Gwen needed him most, Leon was always there, offering her a much-needed hand.
Relationships: Gwen/Leon (Merlin)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 41





	He Offered Her His Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilyjamesbond](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilyjamesbond/gifts).



> I wrote something canon compliant. Who knew it could be done?!
> 
> This fic is inspired by [this gorgeous edit.](https://lilsjames.tumblr.com/post/619561736222162944/you-will-not-be-alone-i-guarantee-i-will-stand-by)
> 
> Lilja, I know I've missed your birthday over the past year, so I offer this as a very merry unbirthday present to you!
> 
> _____________________  
> True Legal Facts: I make no claim to these characters or this franchise. I have never once made a money from a fic.

The first time Leon offered Gwen his hand, she’d needed help getting back to her feet after her legs gave way, buckling with grief.

Gwen didn’t know how she’d managed to stay composed on the balcony where she announced Arthur’s death to the crowd below. She hadn’t wanted to stand before the sea of people, fighting to keep her voice steady as she read out the words honoring not only the fallen king, but all who had been lost at Camlann.

Somehow she’d done it, her body collapsing only after she’d retreated from public view.

As she sat on the cold stone floor, the pain of loss threatening to subsume her, Leon crouched down beside her.

“You did well, my lady. You’ve been a rock for the people this week. But even the strongest leaders need their rest. Let’s get you to bed.”

She took his hand and let him lead her to her chambers.

*****

The next time Leon offered her his hand, she was standing on the shores of the Lake of Avalon, pouring rain starting to seep through her cloak as her feet sank in the mud.

“You can’t stay here,” Gwen told Merlin. “Arthur wouldn’t have allowed it, and neither will I.”

Merlin gave no indication he’d heard her, not even turning his head as he sat in the muck, clothes soaked, unblinking eyes fixed on the lake.

Gwen gripped his shoulders and tried to pull him from the ground. She was by no means frail – her life as blacksmith’s daughter and palace maid had done much to build up her muscles and the sword lessons from Arthur helped maintain them. Still, she struggled to lift Merlin whose gaunt frame was heavier than it appeared, weighed down by a grief as crushing as her own.

She’d felt many things since Arthur died – numbness, shock, rage, sorrow. Not once had Gwen felt hopeless until this moment. She hadn’t planned to become queen, hadn’t spent her life preparing for it. Old doubts and insecurities began to resurface. How could she take care of her people if she couldn’t even save her best friend?

Just when she was about to give up and sink in the mud with Merlin, she saw it – Leon’s outstretched hand.

“You take his left arm and I’ll take his right. We’ll lift on the count of three.”

Merlin didn’t make it easy for them to move him to the copse of trees where they’d tied the horses, but somehow they got him in the saddle.

“We’ll have you back to Gaius before you know it,” Gwen told him, more for her own reassurance than Merlin’s. “He’s missed you, you know. We all have.”

He said nothing, but for the first time since they’d found him, Merlin’s eyes met hers. It only lasted a second, but it was the sign Gwen needed that maybe they would all manage survive this loss too great to be contained in words.

As they started the long ride back, Gwen sidled her horse beside Leon’s, letting her fingers briefly grip his wrist.

“Thank you,” she whispered, then urged her horse forward.

*****

Leon had a knack for knowing exactly when Gwen needed a hand.

She couldn’t remember having ever been this nervous.

Yes, she’d made decisions in her own right as queen, but this day was different.

Most of her work thus far had been carrying on Arthur’s legacy. Gwen still believed in his vision for a just and fair Camelot, and Arthur had made much progress toward it in his lifetime. But there were areas where he’d failed and Gwen knew in her heart it was long past time to right a terrible wrong.

Iseldir and a handful of Druid elders were seated at the round table, as were Merlin and Gaius, plus a good number of nobles and advisors.

Gwen believed wholeheartedly in what she was about to do. The magic ban had caused nothing but pain and suffering for Camelot. It was obscene, especially since magic had protected the realm for years, Merlin risking his life countless times to keep so many safe without any recognition.

That was going to change today. By the time the sun set, she intended to make sure that the entire kingdom knew what Merlin had done for them.

But to speak the words reversing it terrified her, partly due to conditioning from growing up during Uther’s reign, but even more so because of the need to do this correctly.

She took a deep breath, stood as tall as her short frame would allow, and made to enter the room.

Right before she left the corridor, she felt the squeeze of fingers gripping her own, so fast that no one else would have taken notice. Then Leon flashed her a quick smile and opened the door to announce the queen’s arrival.

Just like that her nerves faded, and she stepped through the doorway to lead Camelot into a new age.

*****

The next time Leon offered her his hand, Gwen had no intention of accepting it.

“It’s not right,” she told him. “I’m a grieving widow.”

He was seated on her right side at a feast table on the landing overlooking the courtyard. The whole citadel had been transformed, streamers and tables trailing all the way to the lower town.

“Yes, but the whole point of tonight’s festivities is to mark the official end of mourning for the kingdom. How can you expect Camelot’s people to dance in the streets if you won’t join them?”

“They’ll say I’m dishonoring Arthur’s memory.”

“They’ll say no such thing. Besides, you have to set an example. You led them through a terrible thing. Now you must show them how to move forward.”

“Leon’s right,” Merlin chimed in from his seat at her left. He looked better than when they’d brought him home, though he was still far too skinny. “You should dance, Gwen. You deserve a good night. It’s what Arthur would have wanted.”

Damn Merlin, she thought, turning her own tactic against her.

“Fine. But just the one dance. And only because it’s part of my official role as queen.”

Leon stood and offered her his hand.

“You’d better not step on my toes,” Gwen whispered as he led her to the open space in the courtyard.

The assembled crowd cheered as she and Leon began to dance, watching for a few moments before joining in.

If Gwen happened to indulge Leon in a second dance, then a third, and a fourth, well, it was only to lift the people’s morale.

*****

Leon’s hand found her own when Gwen was least expecting it, grasping her palm as she walked through a corridor to pull her into an empty storeroom.

“You’ve got to be more careful,” she scolded. “If anyone were to see the queen suddenly being abducted…”

“Percival’s on lookout. We’ve got five minutes. Let’s make the most of them.”

Even in the third year of her reign, Gwen hadn’t fully adjusted to the lack of privacy that came with her position. It had been bad enough when Arthur was alive, but at least the people’s eyes were usually focused on him. Now there was no one else to draw away their attention.

And that made a clandestine romance complicated.

Which wasn’t to say that Gwen objected to their frequent meetups in the castle’s assorted closets and cupboards.

It was just, when she finally did step out, lips flushed and cheeks too, it was increasingly difficult to force her hand to let go of Leon’s.

*****

In the year that followed, Gwen allowed herself to daydream about Leon offering her his hand in a very different way, yet never really expected it to happen.

Yet here he was, on one knee, ring in his outstretched fingers.

“I-”

Gwen froze. She remembered so many years ago when Arthur had proposed. It had been so easy to accept then. She was young, she loved him, and she hadn’t yet been burdened by the weight of the throne. But now life was more complicated.

Not everyone had wanted a blacksmith’s daughter to become the sole ruler of Camelot when Arthur died. Though she had enjoyed the support of most, there had been difficult days early in her reign when she’d had to fight back against traditionalists looking to depose her. What would they say if she married her first knight? Would they accuse her of being too weak to rule alone?

And how would the people react if she took a new husband? Merlin repeatedly told her that the people wanted her to be happy, that her romance with Leon was the worst kept secret in the realm, and that everyone already knew how in love they were. Still, a part of Gwen felt as though she had a duty to honor Arthur’s memory for the benefit of the people. If she were to marry again, would they accuse her of abandoning Camelot’s golden king?

Lost in her own spiral of doubt, Gwen had almost forgotten that Leon was still kneeling in front of her.

In all the years she’d known him, she couldn’t recall having seen fear in Leon’s eyes. Until now.

“I can think of nothing I want more,” she finally said and meant it.

*****

For a brief moment, Gwen wondered if Leon regretted offering her his hand. After all, she was squeezing it so hard that he would be lucky to escape without broken bones.

But then another wave of pain hit her, and Gwen’s attention shifted to more pressing matters.

The ordeal took longer than Gwen had hoped, Gaius’s herbs and Merlin’s spells numbing the pain only to a point. But when she heard her daughter’s voice for the first time, a tiny wail crying out for her, she forgot about the agony of labor.

“She’s perfect,” Leon whispered when Merlin placed the baby in Gwen’s arms, “just like her mother.”

Gwen tried to fight back tears, gripping Leon’s hand as she held their daughter.

“What will you call her?” Gaius asked. Even though he had officially retired the previous year, he had insisted on attending her birth.

“Ygraine,” Gwen said, unable to look away from the tiny figure cradled in her arms.

She and Leon had decided on it months earlier, agreeing that it was a way to honor Arthur and another brave queen of Camelot. This time around, Ygraine would have a happy ending, at least if her parents had any say in the matter.

Merlin and Gaius stayed long enough to tend to Gwen and check the baby over, then took their leave.

Gwen couldn’t remember ever having been so exhausted or so sore, yet she stayed awake, lying on her side to marvel at Ygraine, who was sleeping in the bedside cradle.

Just as Gwen was about to drift off, she felt the bed dip behind her, then the familiar weight of Leon’s arm draped across her as he sought out her hand, closing over where it rested on Ygraine’s.

Gwen had lived long enough to know that the road ahead wouldn’t always be easy. Raising a child was challenging enough without the obligations of the throne added in.

But all of that could keep. Wrapped up in this perfect moment, Gwen allowed sleep to claim her, her dreams filled with the shining knight who offered her his hand.


End file.
